Sheri L. Robb

Reporting guidelines for music-based interventions

Music-based interventions are used to address a variety of problems experienced by individuals across the developmental lifespan (infants to elderly adults). In order to improve the transparency and specificity of reporting music-based interventions, a set of specific reporting guidelines is recommended. Recommendations pertain to seven different components of music-based interventions, including theory, content, delivery schedule, interventionist, treatment fidelity, setting, and unit of delivery. Recommendations are intended to support Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Non-randomized Designs (TREND) statements for transparent reporting of interventions while taking into account the variety, complexity, and uniqueness of music-based interventions.

Randomized clinical trial of therapeutic music video intervention for resilience outcomes in adolescents/young adults undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant: A report from the Children's Oncology Group

To reduce the risk of adjustment problems associated with hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) for adolescents/young adults (AYAs), we examined efficacy of a therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention delivered during the acute phase of HSCT to: 1) increase protective factors of spiritual perspective, social integration, family environment, courageous coping, and hope‐derived meaning; 2) decrease risk factors of illness‐related distress and defensive coping; and 3) increase outcomes of self‐transcendence and resilience.

The resilience in illness model, Part 1: Exploratory evaluation in adolescents and young adults with cancer

Background: Resilience is a positive health outcome identified by the Committee on Future Direction for Behavioral and Social Sciences as a research priority for the National Institutes of Health. The Resilience in Illness Model (RIM) was developed from a series of qualitative and quantitative studies, to increase understanding of how positive health protective factors (ie, social integration, family environment, courageous coping, and derived meaning) may influence resilience outcomes. The RIM also includes 2 risk factors: illness-related distress and defensive coping. Objective: The purpose of this 2-part article was to report on evaluation of the RIM for adolescents/young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Here, in part 1, our purpose was to describe the exploratory RIM evaluation, and in part 2 we describe the confirmatory RIM evaluation. Methods: An exploratory evaluation of RIM was done using exploratory latent variable structural equation modeling with a combined sample from 2 studies of preadolescents and AYAs with cancer aged 10 to 26 years (n = 202). Results: Results, including goodness-of-fit indices, support the RIM as a theory with a high level of explained variance for outcomes of resilience (67%) and self-transcendence (63%). Variance explained for proximal outcomes ranged from 18% to 76%. Conclusions: Findings indicate that, following confirmatory testing, the RIM may be a useful guide to developing targeted interventions that are grounded in the experiences of the AYAs. Implications for Practice: Understanding of the AYA cancer experience to improve holistic care is increased.

Ensuring Treatment Fidelity in a Multi-site Behavioral Intervention Study: Implementing NIH Behavior Change Consortium Recommendations in the SMART Trial

The Stories and Music for Adolescent/Young Adult Resilience during Transplant (SMART) study (R01NR008583; U10CA098543; U10CA095861) is an ongoing multi‐site Childrens Oncology Group randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a therapeutic music video intervention for adolescents/young adults (11–24 years of age) with cancer undergoing stem cell transplant. Treatment fidelity strategies from our trial are consistent with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Behavior Change Consortium Treatment Fidelity Workgroup (BCC) recommendations and provide a successful working model for treatment fidelity implementation in a large, multi‐site behavioral intervention study. In this paper, we summarize 20 specific treatment fidelity strategies used in the SMART trial and how these strategies correspond with NIH BCC recommendations in five specific areas: (1) study design, (2) training providers, (3) delivery of treatment, (4) receipt of treatment, and (5) enactment of treatment skills. Increased use and reporting of treatment fidelity procedures is essential in advancing the reliability and validity of behavioral intervention research. The SMART trial provides a strong model for the application of fidelity strategies to improve scientific findings and addresses the absence of published literature, illustrating the application of BCC recommendations in behavioral intervention studies. Copyright

Exploring the feasibility of a therapeutic music video intervention in adolescents and young adults during stem-cell transplantation

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) undergoing stem-cell transplantation (SCT). Twelve AYAs (aged 11-24 years) were randomized to the TMV or an audio-book protocol. The TMV was designed to diminish symptom distress and improve coping, derived meaning, resilience, and quality of life by supporting AYAs in exploring thoughts and feelings. Six sessions with a board-certified music therapist were held twice a week for 3 weeks. The Adolescent Resilience Model guided the selection of a large, comprehensive battery of outcome measures. Major data collections occurred before admission, after intervention, and at 100 days after transplantation. Participants completed a brief set of measures at presession/postsessions 2, 4, and 6. Rates of consent, session completion, and questionnaire completion supported feasibility. Immediate follow-up measures suggest positive trends in the TMV group for hope, spirituality, confidence/mastery, and self-transcendence. Positive trends at 100 days include MOS, symptoms distress, defensive coping, spirituality, and self-transcendence. Therapeutic music video participants also demonstrated gains in quality of life. The TMV intervention may buffer the immediate after-effects of the stem-cell transplantation experience, and a larger study is warranted.

A Review of Music-based Intervention Reporting in Pediatrics

Determining how music-based interventions have been described in published literature is an important first step in evaluating whether guidelines for reporting music-based interventions need to be developed. Twenty-two pediatric intervention studies that met specified inclusion criteria were reviewed for content in 11 areas. This review revealed significant gaps in intervention reporting. Problems were particularly pronounced in eight areas: music qualities, intervention materials, intervention components, intervention delivery schedule, interventionist, treatment fidelity, setting and music delivery method. Development of reporting guidelines for music-based interventions is needed to improve reporting and advance evidence-based practice.

Life goals in patients with cancer: A systematic review of the literature

Purposes of this systematic review of life goal research in cancer patients were to (1) identify life goal characteristics and processes being examined, (2) describe instruments used to assess life goal constructs, (3) identify theoretical models being used to guide research, and (4) summarize what is known about the impact of the cancer experience on life goal characteristics, processes, and psychological outcomes.

A review of supportive care interventions to manage distress in young children with cancer and parents

Background: There is a positive relationship between parent and young child distress during cancer treatment. Dimensions of parent/child distress are multifaceted and associated with family function and quality of life outcomes. A critical examination of intervention research is needed to identify how dimensions of parent/child distress and related outcomes are being addressed. Objective: The aims of this study were to summarize and describe supportive care intervention research for young children with cancer and parents and to discuss implications for family-based intervention research. Methods: This systematic review examined supportive care intervention studies with randomized and nonrandomized designs for young children with cancer (aged 3–8 years) and/or their parents published between 1991 and 2011. Twenty-two studies that met specific inclusion criteria were reviewed to determine intervention type, intervention components, targeted outcomes and findings, and whether interventions addressed child, parent, or parent/child needs. Results: Most interventions focused primarily on procedural support, followed by parent education/counseling. Most studies targeted the child or the parent alone; very few targeted parent/child dyads. Outcomes focused primarily on child distress, anxiety, and pain. Quality of life and coping were rarely measured, and no studies examined family function. This body of research is emerging, with most interventions in the developmental pilot phase and few efficacy trials. Conclusions: Findings confirm underrepresentation of young children in supportive care intervention research and the need for more complex, family-based interventions to advance young child intervention research beyond acute, procedural distress. Implications for Practice: The authors discuss the implications of review findings for clinical practice.

Engaging Nurses in Research for a Randomized Clinical Trial of a Behavioral Health Intervention

Nurse involvement in research is essential to the expansion of nursing science and improved care for patients. The research participation challenges encountered by nurses providing direct care (direct care nurses) include balancing patient care demands with research, adjusting to fluctuating staff and patient volumes, working with interdisciplinary personnel, and feeling comfortable with their knowledge of the research process. The purpose of this paper is to describe efforts to engage nurses in research for the Stories and Music for Adolescent/Young Adult Resilience during Transplant (SMART) study. SMART was an NIH-funded, multisite, randomized, behavioral clinical trial of a music therapy intervention for adolescents/young adults (AYA) undergoing stem cell transplant for an oncology condition. The study was conducted at 8 sites by a large multidisciplinary team that included direct care nurses, advanced practice nurses, and nurse researchers, as well as board-certified music therapists, clinical research coordinators, and physicians. Efforts to include direct care nurses in the conduct of this study fostered mutual respect across disciplines in both academic and clinical settings.

Development and Use of a Web-based Data Management System for a Randomized Clinical Trial of Adolescents and Young Adults

Recent advances in technology provide support for multisite, Web-based data-entry systems and the storage of data in a centralized location, resulting in immediate access to data for investigators, reduced participant burden and human entry error, and improved integrity of clinical trial data. The purpose of this article was to describe the development of a comprehensive, Web-based data management system for a multisite randomized behavioral intervention trial. Strategies used to create this study-specific data management system included interdisciplinary collaboration, design mapping, feasibility assessments, and input from an advisory board of former patients with characteristics similar to the targeted population. The resulting data management system and development strategies provide a template for other behavioral intervention studies.